The first flurry of snow here in Armagh. A biting wind. Antenna whiskers taste the chill air and the prospect of picture postcard winter days. In no time at all, the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue will be airlifting some foundered ingenu off Cairn Toul. In
There is something about the word "accident" that draws people, like fools into a damp gully in March.
If you are driving your children to school in a small car and a man coming the opposite way in a Volvo estate becomes ill and runs into you, busting up your leg bad enough that you will never work again, as happened to a colleague of mine, that is an accident.
If a man falls off Howling Ridge, the cliffs of Belbulben or off the face of Ben Crom ..... well ...., to be discussed.
I have never killed myself on a mountain (that I know of) nota bene the phraseology - "killed myself"- my phraseology although perhaps not yours, but in the hills, solo, I take all responsibility for living or dying on my own shoulders. There is no complicated kit to go wrong and blame, there is no unconscious man in a Volvo estate hurtling towards me to blame, there is no accident to blame.
... and for me, that is at the very heart of hillwalking: my decisions, my smarts and often enough my own very stupids.
Every life threatening situation I have ever got into, (phraseology again) has been got into by me and it has been me that has had to get me out of it. Running off An Stuc in black mist on to the naked crag. Lost off Slieve Bearnagh in nil vis and hanging above Crom Reservoir. Off desolate Macaterick, 180 to the correct bearing, in 2m cloud base, January. On Douglas Crag out of gas at the top of the gully - one step to heaven or hell. And only last year, pretty well done for, trapped at the edge of nightfall between torrential floods off the Glen and Blackstairs rivers.
My demise in any one of these circumstances? Not an accident in sight. All and every one my own doing. Bad planning, bad navigation, inexperience; and far too much bollocks in my head.
This impending winter we can imagine someone might take a skite off some emminently skiteable place or other and we as a community will hold and publicise our awkward and uncomfortable vigils and talk about accidents.
When the day comes that a bad decision launches me, arse foremost, into eternity, I know my friends (because they are my friends) will engage in a raucous debate about about WTF he was doing there, eejit? - and "accident" won't even come into it.

BleckCra2017-12-05 20:20:15

Hillocks

Simon. Himself is the well known to some, Bernard Hill. Less well known of course are hills to do with ants, except to some. Keep er lit though. At least some sort of discussion and of course only a mountain view.
Incidentally, good work Grasshopper. Good, simple research and nice rounded argument per the midges. I would go with it although some could argue it is not flawless.
1. It is is over reliant on esteemed references and under reliant on its innate good common sense.
2. There is no way of knowing which came first - the Irish or the English. A determined researcher could posit the latter.
3. If every hill and bog on these islands is infested with midges which it is, what kind of unique Hell qualifies Hill A as the hill of the midges?

This is good for your Meelmore argument because no other hill on the planet is so noted for its ants.

Though I don't remember too many of them when I was there one winter. Though there were a lot of rushes so perhaps a different story in summer.
Logainm.ie the official placename website gives Cnon na GCorrmhiól as a name for this with various text records including a reference made by the OS in 1846 where the place was recorded with an alternative name of Midge hill.
Translation website http://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/corrmhíol gives the translation of corrmhíol as midge.

Midge Hill? Yes I think I remember her. Was she little and blond and vivacious? One sister, Boot.
Funny Simon how you know her too.

The Pinnacle is also known recently as The Midge Hill first coined in the 1960s by an Englishman camping there during Whitsun bank holiday. Its name also derives from a conflation with Mid Hill in the same whreabouts.
It resides in that strange, wild and wonderful country south of the Culter (pron cooter) group and including Tala and its bleak tops and the Upper River Clyde.
There is a top in the area called "Deid for Cauld" - dead from the cold. You get the picture.
Heading South you are enroute to Hart Fell and White Coomb.
This is true old Southern Scotland. Few goidelic, placenames. The Northern​ flank of the Southern uplands and cheek by jowl with the border with England - "and Tweed rins tae the ocean". Hills, Fells, Laws and Dods. Knowes, Rigs, Cleuchs. Brythonic, Old English and Norse. Not an Irishman or Teuchter in sight. Reivers - Armstrongs, Elliotts and interestingly Humes and Adams.
Is there any reason to go there? If you can get it out of the mist, yes. Lovely green, rolling hills as far as you can see. Moffat famous for its version of Welles Fargo. Broughton for its brewery. And .... Glasgows big but Biggar's Biggar.
Not the drama of the Highlands or cragginess of the Galloway Hills. Still, testing walks and maybe the best place in these islands to do map and compass.
As a friend once and innocently pointed out - "a great spot apart from the midgets."

simon32017-12-05 16:56:56

Ants in your placenames.

So you haven't heard of ant-hills?
Incidentally take a look at this place:
https://mountainviews.ie/summit/B7426/

I note my post, reference insect mountains, enthusiastically mentioned in dispatches.
Alas my apologies have to be retracted.
The Maggot of Kirkcudbrightshire's Maggot Hill turns out to be a corruption of maakit, Southern Lallan Scots for dirty (the closest English translation). A child would be maakit or a dog would be maakit ie covered in mud and dirt.
The etymology is the same as maggot coming from mawk or maak, Lallan Scots for maggot.
So maakit is literally maggotted - but is used to describe muddy/dirty as above.
Maggot Hill is muddy/dirty hill which makes more sense.

If the party with the pencil hadn't have had the name of it as carrick big would he not have had had the name of the other as carrick little? In short having had haved the name of carrick big confused with carrick beg would not he have had the other carrick named as carrick more? Well would he not? Of course he would. It's obvious.

simon32017-12-01 19:40:06

How the government (ROI) funded hill sports.

The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/something-for-everyone-where-does-the-56m-in-sports-capital-funding-go-1.3311407
shows a breakdown for the greatly expanded funding for sports in the Republic, showing amount and number of projects.

mcrtchly3 days ago.A snowy day gives a different perspective on the Poisoned Glen and Crockfadda. This photo was taken with a 500mm lens at a distance of 1.5km from the Scared Heart Church and 8km from the the Poiso...

Colin Murphya week ago.We were lucky to see a white tailed eagle gliding gracefully over Eirk Lough before before coming to rest on a rock, which provided the opportunity to capture a pic of the rarely seen bird of prey...

mlmoroneybb6 days ago.On Sunday, we were not attacked by the MacCarthys of Drishane Castle but started our walk on the O?Keefe Booning Castl walk, Len: 27.7km, Climb: 362m, Area: Paps/Derrynasaggart (Ireland)

Colin Murphya week ago.The French writer Maupassant used to say he had lunch in the Eiffel Tower every day because it was the only place in Paris that he couldn't see the thing. A similar view might be taken of Foardal,...

mlmoroneybb6 days ago.Thanks to all for making the weekends on the Beara-Breifne Way so special. We have completed 187Km in 7 Day?s walking walk, Len: 30.3km, Climb: 781m, Area: Paps/Derrynasaggart (Ireland)

Collaborative entry Last edit by: Colin Murphya week ago.If you want to do this in isolation, the simplest route is from the car park at V882790, and then heading SE directly up the heathery slope for 1km. The summit itself is a broad heathery mound.

BleckCraa week ago.Simon. Himself is the well known to some, Bernard Hill. Less well known of course are hills to do with ants, except to some. Keep er lit though. At least some sort of discussion and of course only...

Collaborative entry Last edit by: Colin Murphya week ago.There are access issues around Moll's Gap, so suggest starting at car park at V882790 and proceeding up the heathery slopes to Foardal - about 1km to the SE, before walking the 1.5km to the SW to ...

mlmoroneybb6 days ago.Day 5 we set out for Ballyvourney where some of us put our cupla focail to good use. Along this trail we came across man walk, Len: 23.4km, Climb: 483m, Area: Shehy/Knockboy (Ireland)

BleckCra6 days ago.The first flurry of snow here in Armagh. A biting wind. Antenna whiskers taste the chill air and the prospect of picture postcard winter days. In no time at all, the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue will...

simon3a week ago.Also, try Knocknagorraveela, hill of the midges. https://mountainviews.ie/summit/441/Though I don't remember too many of them when I was there one winter. Though there were a lot of rushes so perh...